Blech. I don't really know how to feel about this past weekend. It had its good and bad parts.
The good parts:
- I finally found a pair of great leather boots I like! And while I didn't have the money to purchase them outright, seeing as it's the end of the month and I didn't feel like calling to get more money early, they let me put them on hold and I can pick them up next week.
- I tried two restaurants I've wanted to try forever, and both of them were pretty decent. Neither was mind-blowing, but both were enjoyable.
- I did a lot of reading and relaxing.
- I found two really cute skirts at Zara for not very expensive.
- I finally washed all my clothes!
The bad parts:
- It poured for most of the weekend, which made it hard to go out.
- Someone got so angry at me practicing voice with the window open at school that they called the school and asked for me to stop. I didn't realize I was that bad :(
- I was really, really sick all day today, and it doesn't feel like the kind of sick that goes away. As in, I think I've hit my limit of acidic tomato sauces and wine and am going to have to go back to pasta in bianca (salt, pepper, butter, and cheese) and lots of water.
- I finally found a scale, which then told me that I'd put on a bit more weight than I'd hoped.
- We didn't make it to Assisi because the weather was so bad and because I was so sick.
- Rob had tons of homework, so I wasted a lot of time at home doing nothing.
- I stayed up way too late both Friday and Saturday nights, so my schedule got all off.
Blech. It's just so hard to feel like I've wasted a weekend when I have so few left.
The good news though is that the rest of the weekends are pretty much planned. Next weekend is our anniversary, and we're headed to Rome, which should be fun. We missed out on some cool stuff last time, namely the catacombs and la Bocca della Verita, and I want to find the marble McDonalds.
I am so ready for Greece. I just want to lay on the beach and relax. Actually, what I'm most ready for at this point is to go home. When I'm sick it's really hard to be away. Here especially with the weird food situation it's hard to get well...I just wish I had a way to make my own food, and I wasn't at the mercy of whatever and whenever they wanted to feed me. BAH.
Anyway, I should get some sleep. Tomorrow starts another exciting week in paradise. Ciao!
30 March 2009
27 March 2009
La Bella Italia.
I am SO glad I decided to spend the last month of school in good ol' Italy.
While looking back I moderately regret not visiting the British Isles, Spain, or France, I do feel like I got a really good idea of some less-frequented parts of Europe, and am getting a really great sense of Italy. The truth is that four months simply isn't enough to see all of Europe and go to school at the same time. I also feel like my original reasoning for not hitting the major cities, namely that it's a lot easier to visit London or Paris later in life than it is to visit middle-of-nowhere Germany or the Czech Republic, is still valid. It does make me a little sad though that I won't get to see some of my favorite places in the whole world before I head home again. I guess I'll just have to keep visiting (bummer!).
Anyway, there are several reasons why I'm very glad I've decided to stay in Italy. First, it's way less stressful to do all of my traveling in little chunks and by train. I have so much more control over what I do and when I do it traveling this way. I also really appreciate staying in Italy because I speak the language and feel comfortable communicating and getting around. I get lost a lot less in Italy (and while it's been really good for me to get lost somewhere I can't ask for directions and have to rely on myself to get back to my hotel, it can get a little stressful). My primary reason, however, for enjoying Italy for this last month is that for the most part, we're having gorgeous weather! It's still been unseasonably cold, but it's ten times better than it was in Germany. Most of the GIF kids are in Munich right now, and while I'm sure they're having a blast, they're probably not wearing a skirt and sitting in the sun reading a book like I was earlier today. Tough life, eh?
I'm really liking the atmosphere of Florence especially now that it's getting a little warmer. While the sudden tourist boom is slightly irritating in that I have to push my way through crowds and guard my bag like a hawk just to get around, I don't blame them for coming. Piazzas feel the way they're supposed to - full of life and energy. Today I took my book to Piazza Santa Croce to enjoy the sun, and there were a bunch of kids out playing football and cheering each other on. Couples were out walking and everyone just seemed to have slowed down so much from the winter mentality of 'I'm freezing and will knock you over if you get in the way of my heated destination." It's very relaxing. This whole afternoon I actually ended up piazza-hopping (and, of course, doing a little shopping), and each had its own distinct atmosphere, but all were fun and relaxing to sit a while. I look forward to spending a lot of the next month that way.
Something ridiculous and amusing I'm realizing about myself -- my English is getting awful. There's not a really good reason for it, since I still speak English most often in my everyday life, but I think just working on my Italian and the fact that Italian grammar is becoming more natural and taking less thought is taking a toll on my English. I get things mixed up all the time, forget words I should definitely know, conjugate Italian verbs with English endings, and generally confuse everyone I'm talking with. It'd be a mess, if it weren't so funny. It'll be even more funny when I get home and start mixing Italian words in to my everyday life...especially this summer when no one else I'll see will know any. Oh dear.
Speaking of coming home, I'm getting really excited for that. I mean, not so excited that I'm counting down the days or anything, but excited enough that I'll be ready when the time comes. It's a really great state to be in -- I'm loving where I am, but won't be sad when it's over. I'm sure I'll miss lots of things when I get home (and I'm excited to see what those things are!), but I think it's a fair trade off. There are great things everywhere in the world, and you just have to enjoy the best parts of wherever you are. I know as much as I'll be so excited to drive again, I'll really miss having so many interesting places so close by train, and I'll miss how relaxing train rides are. I'll miss walking everywhere, I'm sure, and the incredible views I get on a daily basis just getting outside. I think I'll really miss speaking Italian as well.
What I'm really excited for though is coming home and trying some Italian recipes! I went to cooking class again earlier this week, and it was really, really fun. We made melanzane caprese (caprese salad with eggplant), fresh spinaci canneloni (spinach and ricotta pasta wraps), and home made vanilla gelato. DELICIOUS! I'm going to have to ask Karin for some of her recipes too before we leave.
Well, I've been putting off laundry for five days now and I'm officially out of clothes, so I better go do that. I've also got to grab some take-out dinner before Panda explodes with the hungry, tired Friday night crowd. Tomorrow I think if all goes well Rob and I will go to Assisi, though it looks like it might rain. It should still be warm though. We're REALLY disappointed because Gonzaga plays UNC tonight, but it's 3am our time. By the time the game is over, it'll be morning. BAH. We'll see. If we lose, I'll regret staying up, but if we win, I'll kill myself if I don't. Bah, we'll see. In any case, ciao!
While looking back I moderately regret not visiting the British Isles, Spain, or France, I do feel like I got a really good idea of some less-frequented parts of Europe, and am getting a really great sense of Italy. The truth is that four months simply isn't enough to see all of Europe and go to school at the same time. I also feel like my original reasoning for not hitting the major cities, namely that it's a lot easier to visit London or Paris later in life than it is to visit middle-of-nowhere Germany or the Czech Republic, is still valid. It does make me a little sad though that I won't get to see some of my favorite places in the whole world before I head home again. I guess I'll just have to keep visiting (bummer!).
Anyway, there are several reasons why I'm very glad I've decided to stay in Italy. First, it's way less stressful to do all of my traveling in little chunks and by train. I have so much more control over what I do and when I do it traveling this way. I also really appreciate staying in Italy because I speak the language and feel comfortable communicating and getting around. I get lost a lot less in Italy (and while it's been really good for me to get lost somewhere I can't ask for directions and have to rely on myself to get back to my hotel, it can get a little stressful). My primary reason, however, for enjoying Italy for this last month is that for the most part, we're having gorgeous weather! It's still been unseasonably cold, but it's ten times better than it was in Germany. Most of the GIF kids are in Munich right now, and while I'm sure they're having a blast, they're probably not wearing a skirt and sitting in the sun reading a book like I was earlier today. Tough life, eh?
I'm really liking the atmosphere of Florence especially now that it's getting a little warmer. While the sudden tourist boom is slightly irritating in that I have to push my way through crowds and guard my bag like a hawk just to get around, I don't blame them for coming. Piazzas feel the way they're supposed to - full of life and energy. Today I took my book to Piazza Santa Croce to enjoy the sun, and there were a bunch of kids out playing football and cheering each other on. Couples were out walking and everyone just seemed to have slowed down so much from the winter mentality of 'I'm freezing and will knock you over if you get in the way of my heated destination." It's very relaxing. This whole afternoon I actually ended up piazza-hopping (and, of course, doing a little shopping), and each had its own distinct atmosphere, but all were fun and relaxing to sit a while. I look forward to spending a lot of the next month that way.
Something ridiculous and amusing I'm realizing about myself -- my English is getting awful. There's not a really good reason for it, since I still speak English most often in my everyday life, but I think just working on my Italian and the fact that Italian grammar is becoming more natural and taking less thought is taking a toll on my English. I get things mixed up all the time, forget words I should definitely know, conjugate Italian verbs with English endings, and generally confuse everyone I'm talking with. It'd be a mess, if it weren't so funny. It'll be even more funny when I get home and start mixing Italian words in to my everyday life...especially this summer when no one else I'll see will know any. Oh dear.
Speaking of coming home, I'm getting really excited for that. I mean, not so excited that I'm counting down the days or anything, but excited enough that I'll be ready when the time comes. It's a really great state to be in -- I'm loving where I am, but won't be sad when it's over. I'm sure I'll miss lots of things when I get home (and I'm excited to see what those things are!), but I think it's a fair trade off. There are great things everywhere in the world, and you just have to enjoy the best parts of wherever you are. I know as much as I'll be so excited to drive again, I'll really miss having so many interesting places so close by train, and I'll miss how relaxing train rides are. I'll miss walking everywhere, I'm sure, and the incredible views I get on a daily basis just getting outside. I think I'll really miss speaking Italian as well.
What I'm really excited for though is coming home and trying some Italian recipes! I went to cooking class again earlier this week, and it was really, really fun. We made melanzane caprese (caprese salad with eggplant), fresh spinaci canneloni (spinach and ricotta pasta wraps), and home made vanilla gelato. DELICIOUS! I'm going to have to ask Karin for some of her recipes too before we leave.
Well, I've been putting off laundry for five days now and I'm officially out of clothes, so I better go do that. I've also got to grab some take-out dinner before Panda explodes with the hungry, tired Friday night crowd. Tomorrow I think if all goes well Rob and I will go to Assisi, though it looks like it might rain. It should still be warm though. We're REALLY disappointed because Gonzaga plays UNC tonight, but it's 3am our time. By the time the game is over, it'll be morning. BAH. We'll see. If we lose, I'll regret staying up, but if we win, I'll kill myself if I don't. Bah, we'll see. In any case, ciao!
20 March 2009
ho fatto le foto (finalmente)
Just wanted to let everyone know that I finally posted pictures from my travels for the last month or so!
First, the rest of the Venice pictures (also here).
Then, we went to Prague!
The weekend after was waterlogged in Vienna,
and finally, we ended up in Germany (and had too many pictures for just one album).
Hope you enjoy!
I'm hoping to get some pictures up soon as well of my life here in Florence...school, the pensione, etc...but the weather has just been too ugly before, and this week was crazy.
Today we had the most beautiful thunderstorm. I love spring :)
First, the rest of the Venice pictures (also here).
Then, we went to Prague!
The weekend after was waterlogged in Vienna,
and finally, we ended up in Germany (and had too many pictures for just one album).
Hope you enjoy!
I'm hoping to get some pictures up soon as well of my life here in Florence...school, the pensione, etc...but the weather has just been too ugly before, and this week was crazy.
Today we had the most beautiful thunderstorm. I love spring :)
17 March 2009
Ritorniamo per il tempo bello.
Ciao everyone!
We've made it home safely after a really lovely, really long weekend for Spring Break in Germany. We decided to go because we randomly found 15 euro tickets (yes, round-trip) from Pisa to Frankfurt and decided, hey, why not see Germany? I'm officially so glad we did. We left Thursday morning, taking a train to Pisa and flying out early afternoon. Unfortunately, Ryanair always hits you with all kinds of obnoxious extra charges, like the ones we got for not checking in online, which is illegal if you're not a citizen of an EU country. SO our 15 euro tickets became 40 euro tickets by the time we were done. Still a good deal though.
Speaking of Ryanair, we'd heard all sorts of horrible things about how bad the flights are, about how they try to sell you things constantly and never leave you alone, and how the pilots don't even really have their licenses...I'm not sure especially about that last one, but let me tell you, it wasn't too bad of an experience at all. Except for the hidden fees and the stringency on size and weight of your carry-on (especially tough because it costs upwards of 3o euro to check a bag!), the flight was fairly painless, which is saying something considering I HATE to fly. In Italy it was a bit more stressful than in Germany, because the Italians don't understand the concept of a line, so there was lots of shoving for seats. We were fairly early though, so it wasn't a big deal.
Anyway, we arrived in Frankfurt-Hahn with not too much trouble, surprising given the very foggy weather. We picked up our rental car, grabbed our google directions I'd printed off, and headed off. Except, the directions made NO sense. Turns out I'd printed off directions from the Frankfurt airport, not Frankfurt-Hahn, over 50 kilometers away. We didn't realize that until two hours of getting lost later though. We headed back to the airport, frustrated and dejected, to get some not very much more clear directions from the lady at the rental place. We did, however, make it mostly fine from there. What should have been a three hour trip, after the initial two hours of being lost and another hour or so being lost in both Wurzburg and Creglingen, ended up being close to seven, and we arrived in the teeny town on Crainthal at close 9pm. About half a kilometer long and only one street, we figured that #69 would be quite easy to find. WRONG. 45 minutes later, we finally found it, as it was set off the road with teeny tiny numbers, and was nowhere near any of the other numbers in the 60s or 70s. GR. Our little apartment was cute though...right on top of this nice couple's house. They didn't speak hardly any English, but were lovely anyway.
That night we hurried back to the next biggest town to try to find a restaurant that was still open, and hit the jackpot at a place called Block Haus. Traditional Bavarian steaks, potatoes, and pasta like our friends Rudy and Pepe made when they came to visit us in Germany. It was DELICIOUS, though I may have been biased since we hadn't eaten all day.
The next few days we spent exploring the little medieval towns of the Romantische Strasse, or the Romantic Road, of Germany. There weren't too many people out yet since tourism season starts next month, so it was perfect for us to practice driving stick in our trusty brand-new VW Golf. It was actually more like learning for me, since it was only my second time. Maybe not the best time to learn, but it was lots of fun anyway. We never really got in too much trouble, although there were a couple stoplights where we killed the engine and held up the line. German drivers are all great, since they have to go to driving school to get their licenses, so we felt a little silly, but still had fun. Sunday, we took a three hour trip down past Munich to see Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle built by the mad King Ludwig II based on the operas of Wagner. It really was beautiful, though we saw it on a pretty ugly day (it rained/snowed the whole time we were there).
Other than that, we mostly just relaxed. We did a ton of talking and getting to know each other better, which always surprises me after almost a year of being together, that we're still getting to know each other better and still surprising one another. I hope we continue to surprise one another...it's so refreshing :) Other fun, random things about the weekend: the apartment only had pots, no pans, so scrambling eggs and frying bacon became quite the adventure. We were also only provided with two hand towels and nothing else (shampoo, soap, bath towels, etc.), so that was also an adventure. Almost everyone in Germany spoke English though, and it felt a lot like home, since the countryside looks a lot like Montana, so it was kind of like a little taste of home in the middle of my study abroad experience. Very strange, but lots of fun.
One of my favorite parts of the trip, actually, was today when we got back to Pisa. First, the weather was GORGEOUS -- had to have been 65 and very sunny. Lovely. Second, for some reason my Italian got better while I was gone! I had several people ask me questions in Italian that I (a) understood, and (b) answered with no problem, and I also had to ask for directions, buy train tickets, and order food and managed it all in Italian with little or no stress. I think it's finally sinking in and becoming a bit more natural, which is great. Rob and I speak to each other in mostly Italian, which is good practice, and I speak with just about everyone else I get the chance to, so it's about time it starts kicking in.
This week, I think we're just going to hang out here. I've got papers to write and Rob's got a few projects, the weather is gorgeous, and we may as well just soak it up. I realized today driving past the Frankfurt airport that we've only got about a month and a half left. It's going to FLY. I'm really enjoying this experience and feel like I've learned so much, both about other people and about myself. I've gotten so much more relaxed about traveling, for one. I've also realized how much bigger the world is than I ever imagined, but how through all its differences, it's really just people living their lives everywhere. It's not so different as I once thought. I've also really expanded my horizons learning another language, and it constantly amazes me how much you can tell about a culture simply based on how they say things. For instance, English is the only language I know so far that makes someone the subject of a sentence when they talk about what they like (logical, considering that most English-speaking countries are very focused on the individual). However, both Italian and Spanish place themselves on the back burner in saying what they like, with a literal translation of something like "it is pleasing to me." Not surprising for cultures more based on family life, and putting others first (though sometimes it doesn't seem like it here when the Italians are being rude.)
Speaking of being rude, I've also come away with a really weird perception of the concept of rude. I always assumed that what is rude is pretty much universal, because people are people and what bugs people should be apparent. In traveling, I've realized not so much. For instance, in Italy, no one stands in lines. They push. It's so unnerving and I find it so rude, but to them, it's just the way life is. On the other hand, putting your feet up when you sit here is considered the ultimate in rude, which is strange for us Americans. There's a couch on the first floor of our school building which is clearly meant for relaxing, and many students take off their shoes and curl up to do their studies on it. Apparently, many of the professors have complained that students are disrespectful because they put their feet on the couch, even without their shoes. Strange. Rob was even asked to take his toe off of an empty seat opposite him by a perfect stranger walking by on the train. It's that big of a deal to them. Interesting, for sure. It makes it so much more important to be super observant whenever you get somewhere new...or just ask! I've gotten to know the people who work at our pensione really well, and so now I ask them whenever I have a question about ettiquite or why the Italians do something strange. It's been really helpful.
Speaking of the people who work at our pensione, Karin has offered to cook dinner for just me and Rob, since we're the only people back from spring break. She's so sweet :) Anyway, I'm off to dinner, so ciao!
We've made it home safely after a really lovely, really long weekend for Spring Break in Germany. We decided to go because we randomly found 15 euro tickets (yes, round-trip) from Pisa to Frankfurt and decided, hey, why not see Germany? I'm officially so glad we did. We left Thursday morning, taking a train to Pisa and flying out early afternoon. Unfortunately, Ryanair always hits you with all kinds of obnoxious extra charges, like the ones we got for not checking in online, which is illegal if you're not a citizen of an EU country. SO our 15 euro tickets became 40 euro tickets by the time we were done. Still a good deal though.
Speaking of Ryanair, we'd heard all sorts of horrible things about how bad the flights are, about how they try to sell you things constantly and never leave you alone, and how the pilots don't even really have their licenses...I'm not sure especially about that last one, but let me tell you, it wasn't too bad of an experience at all. Except for the hidden fees and the stringency on size and weight of your carry-on (especially tough because it costs upwards of 3o euro to check a bag!), the flight was fairly painless, which is saying something considering I HATE to fly. In Italy it was a bit more stressful than in Germany, because the Italians don't understand the concept of a line, so there was lots of shoving for seats. We were fairly early though, so it wasn't a big deal.
Anyway, we arrived in Frankfurt-Hahn with not too much trouble, surprising given the very foggy weather. We picked up our rental car, grabbed our google directions I'd printed off, and headed off. Except, the directions made NO sense. Turns out I'd printed off directions from the Frankfurt airport, not Frankfurt-Hahn, over 50 kilometers away. We didn't realize that until two hours of getting lost later though. We headed back to the airport, frustrated and dejected, to get some not very much more clear directions from the lady at the rental place. We did, however, make it mostly fine from there. What should have been a three hour trip, after the initial two hours of being lost and another hour or so being lost in both Wurzburg and Creglingen, ended up being close to seven, and we arrived in the teeny town on Crainthal at close 9pm. About half a kilometer long and only one street, we figured that #69 would be quite easy to find. WRONG. 45 minutes later, we finally found it, as it was set off the road with teeny tiny numbers, and was nowhere near any of the other numbers in the 60s or 70s. GR. Our little apartment was cute though...right on top of this nice couple's house. They didn't speak hardly any English, but were lovely anyway.
That night we hurried back to the next biggest town to try to find a restaurant that was still open, and hit the jackpot at a place called Block Haus. Traditional Bavarian steaks, potatoes, and pasta like our friends Rudy and Pepe made when they came to visit us in Germany. It was DELICIOUS, though I may have been biased since we hadn't eaten all day.
The next few days we spent exploring the little medieval towns of the Romantische Strasse, or the Romantic Road, of Germany. There weren't too many people out yet since tourism season starts next month, so it was perfect for us to practice driving stick in our trusty brand-new VW Golf. It was actually more like learning for me, since it was only my second time. Maybe not the best time to learn, but it was lots of fun anyway. We never really got in too much trouble, although there were a couple stoplights where we killed the engine and held up the line. German drivers are all great, since they have to go to driving school to get their licenses, so we felt a little silly, but still had fun. Sunday, we took a three hour trip down past Munich to see Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle built by the mad King Ludwig II based on the operas of Wagner. It really was beautiful, though we saw it on a pretty ugly day (it rained/snowed the whole time we were there).
Other than that, we mostly just relaxed. We did a ton of talking and getting to know each other better, which always surprises me after almost a year of being together, that we're still getting to know each other better and still surprising one another. I hope we continue to surprise one another...it's so refreshing :) Other fun, random things about the weekend: the apartment only had pots, no pans, so scrambling eggs and frying bacon became quite the adventure. We were also only provided with two hand towels and nothing else (shampoo, soap, bath towels, etc.), so that was also an adventure. Almost everyone in Germany spoke English though, and it felt a lot like home, since the countryside looks a lot like Montana, so it was kind of like a little taste of home in the middle of my study abroad experience. Very strange, but lots of fun.
One of my favorite parts of the trip, actually, was today when we got back to Pisa. First, the weather was GORGEOUS -- had to have been 65 and very sunny. Lovely. Second, for some reason my Italian got better while I was gone! I had several people ask me questions in Italian that I (a) understood, and (b) answered with no problem, and I also had to ask for directions, buy train tickets, and order food and managed it all in Italian with little or no stress. I think it's finally sinking in and becoming a bit more natural, which is great. Rob and I speak to each other in mostly Italian, which is good practice, and I speak with just about everyone else I get the chance to, so it's about time it starts kicking in.
This week, I think we're just going to hang out here. I've got papers to write and Rob's got a few projects, the weather is gorgeous, and we may as well just soak it up. I realized today driving past the Frankfurt airport that we've only got about a month and a half left. It's going to FLY. I'm really enjoying this experience and feel like I've learned so much, both about other people and about myself. I've gotten so much more relaxed about traveling, for one. I've also realized how much bigger the world is than I ever imagined, but how through all its differences, it's really just people living their lives everywhere. It's not so different as I once thought. I've also really expanded my horizons learning another language, and it constantly amazes me how much you can tell about a culture simply based on how they say things. For instance, English is the only language I know so far that makes someone the subject of a sentence when they talk about what they like (logical, considering that most English-speaking countries are very focused on the individual). However, both Italian and Spanish place themselves on the back burner in saying what they like, with a literal translation of something like "it is pleasing to me." Not surprising for cultures more based on family life, and putting others first (though sometimes it doesn't seem like it here when the Italians are being rude.)
Speaking of being rude, I've also come away with a really weird perception of the concept of rude. I always assumed that what is rude is pretty much universal, because people are people and what bugs people should be apparent. In traveling, I've realized not so much. For instance, in Italy, no one stands in lines. They push. It's so unnerving and I find it so rude, but to them, it's just the way life is. On the other hand, putting your feet up when you sit here is considered the ultimate in rude, which is strange for us Americans. There's a couch on the first floor of our school building which is clearly meant for relaxing, and many students take off their shoes and curl up to do their studies on it. Apparently, many of the professors have complained that students are disrespectful because they put their feet on the couch, even without their shoes. Strange. Rob was even asked to take his toe off of an empty seat opposite him by a perfect stranger walking by on the train. It's that big of a deal to them. Interesting, for sure. It makes it so much more important to be super observant whenever you get somewhere new...or just ask! I've gotten to know the people who work at our pensione really well, and so now I ask them whenever I have a question about ettiquite or why the Italians do something strange. It's been really helpful.
Speaking of the people who work at our pensione, Karin has offered to cook dinner for just me and Rob, since we're the only people back from spring break. She's so sweet :) Anyway, I'm off to dinner, so ciao!
12 March 2009
Andiamo a Germania!
Hey everyone!
It's been another crazy week in Europe...no surprise there. It's been gorgeous, you don't quite need a coat weather, and I've been enjoying it SO much. I've also been playing lots of piano (I actually see myself getting better!) and hanging out with Una, our Irish librarian, doing research for a paper on how clothing in Renaissance Florence changed as the society did. It's actually been lots of fun.
In about fifteen minutes, I'm walking to the train station to hop a one and a half hour train to the Pisa Airport, where Rob and I will catch a flight to Frankfurt. We're flying Ryanair for the first time and have heard mixed reviews about them, so I'm a little nervous. It was only 30 Euro round trip though, so I can't complain too much. We are renting a car when we get there, which will most likely be manual, so that will also be quite the experience. Neither one of us have ever driven one more than once or twice :P We're staying in a tiny town called Creglingen in an apartment for six days. It's about two hours from Frankfurt and three hours from Munich. There's tons of hiking and biking right around that area, so we're excited to get outside and do some exploring! We're also quite excited to cook for the first time since we've been in Europe. It should be quite the trip. We're going to try to make it to Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle that Disney's Cinderella castle is modeled after, and maybe also to Munich. I'm most nervous for the driving, but also really, really excited.
We'll be back sometime Tuesday afternoon, if all goes well, and have two days of school before another three day weekend. We may stay here, or we may go gallavanting, depending on how exhausted we are and how the weather is. I expect we'll be ready to go again though, since this will be a really relaxing week.
I hope everyone is well. It seems like everyone is travelling at some point this week, so I wish you all safe travels (specifically Grandma and Grandpa to Yellowstone, Dad and Blaine to California, and Mom back to the blizzarding Montana). I love you all!
It's been another crazy week in Europe...no surprise there. It's been gorgeous, you don't quite need a coat weather, and I've been enjoying it SO much. I've also been playing lots of piano (I actually see myself getting better!) and hanging out with Una, our Irish librarian, doing research for a paper on how clothing in Renaissance Florence changed as the society did. It's actually been lots of fun.
In about fifteen minutes, I'm walking to the train station to hop a one and a half hour train to the Pisa Airport, where Rob and I will catch a flight to Frankfurt. We're flying Ryanair for the first time and have heard mixed reviews about them, so I'm a little nervous. It was only 30 Euro round trip though, so I can't complain too much. We are renting a car when we get there, which will most likely be manual, so that will also be quite the experience. Neither one of us have ever driven one more than once or twice :P We're staying in a tiny town called Creglingen in an apartment for six days. It's about two hours from Frankfurt and three hours from Munich. There's tons of hiking and biking right around that area, so we're excited to get outside and do some exploring! We're also quite excited to cook for the first time since we've been in Europe. It should be quite the trip. We're going to try to make it to Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle that Disney's Cinderella castle is modeled after, and maybe also to Munich. I'm most nervous for the driving, but also really, really excited.
We'll be back sometime Tuesday afternoon, if all goes well, and have two days of school before another three day weekend. We may stay here, or we may go gallavanting, depending on how exhausted we are and how the weather is. I expect we'll be ready to go again though, since this will be a really relaxing week.
I hope everyone is well. It seems like everyone is travelling at some point this week, so I wish you all safe travels (specifically Grandma and Grandpa to Yellowstone, Dad and Blaine to California, and Mom back to the blizzarding Montana). I love you all!
08 March 2009
Super Speedy Update.
Hello everyone!
This time I really do owe you all an apology, since it's been about two weeks since I've written. I't just been such a crazy two weeks! I intend to go back and put down the details, mostly just to be able to look back and remember it myself, but for you guys as well, if you're interested. For now though, I'm just going to throw down the basics to let you know I'm alive.
After Venice was midterms week. BLECH. I survived it, but Thursday in particular was miserable: three midterms back to back with two papers due. Then that evening we left for Prague, so there was hardly any time to breathe that whole week. It ended up being successful though ... my grades came back better than I'd even hoped, so that was exciting.
Prague was a really great trip. We left Thursday night at 8pm and drove overnight on a bus (12 hour bus ride...blech again) with a tour group called Florence for Fun, which plans trips for students studying abroad here in Florence. I went with Rob and my roommate Meredith, and the three of us pretty much did our own thing separate of the group the whole weekend. We did lots of walking around since it's such a beautiful city, and lots of shopping, since the exchange rate was phenomenal and they had lots of really original stuff. It was quite a bit of fun. We also had one really interesting (and by that, I mean scary) night. Prague has a 5-story dance club with a different type of music on each floor, so Saturday night we decided to check it out. Rob and I got separated from Meredith because she left with some guy without telling us, so we spent a frantic two hours looking for her and sitting in this disgusting club panicking thinking she was dead or raped or god knows what. She ended up bumping in to us an hour and a half after we'd planned to leave, and we convinced her to come home with us, but it was horribly stressful and a great way to ruin a night that would have otherwise been really fun. Then, on the way home we were mistaken for pickpockets and grabbed by two bouncers walking by another dance club. We tried to push them off because we didn't know who they were and we hadn't done anything wrong, and almost got in a fight in the process. Prague at night is a scary place, and it just reinforced why I almost never go out in Europe. I really love the place during the day, and will spend the rest of my late night hours here sleeping and avoiding the scary crowd.
We made it back from Prague early Monday morning (about 2am) and the next week or so just flew by. Before we knew it, it was Thursday afternoon and we were leaving for our third half-day bus ride in a week period, to Vienna. We arrived there about 3am to a surprisingly nice hostel, then woke up around ten the next morning to go explore. In all honesty, I can't remember much about our trip to Vienna except for that it was FREEZING cold. It was also windy and rainy, so it made it pretty miserable to be outside. We did our best to get the best out of the city, but we ended up doing a lot of museum tours and hanging out in coffee shops. We did, however, get to see a couple really cool things, namely a performance of the Lipizzaners of the Spanish Riding School and Mozart's house in Vienna. Mozart's house actually was only cool in that he lived there -- the museum itself was awful and overpriced. It was still inspiring though to be there and see what he saw out his windows and just be in the place that inspired him.
So, Vienna wasn't a complete bust, though it wasn't my favorite weekend out of all my trips so far. This morning, we woke up early and got ready to leave, and it was the most gorgeous morning (GRRR). I realized I probably would have fallen in love with Vienna had it been sunny, and so I'd love to go back someday and try again. The drive home wasn't too painful, but I am thankful to not be going on any more bus trips for probably the rest of my time here.
This week, once again, will be short. We're leaving for Spring Break on Thursday -- six days in Bavaria! We're still working out the details, namely where to stay since our apartment fell through, but as soon as that's figured out, it should be a great week!
Alright, I've got to go make Skype calls. Ciao!
This time I really do owe you all an apology, since it's been about two weeks since I've written. I't just been such a crazy two weeks! I intend to go back and put down the details, mostly just to be able to look back and remember it myself, but for you guys as well, if you're interested. For now though, I'm just going to throw down the basics to let you know I'm alive.
After Venice was midterms week. BLECH. I survived it, but Thursday in particular was miserable: three midterms back to back with two papers due. Then that evening we left for Prague, so there was hardly any time to breathe that whole week. It ended up being successful though ... my grades came back better than I'd even hoped, so that was exciting.
Prague was a really great trip. We left Thursday night at 8pm and drove overnight on a bus (12 hour bus ride...blech again) with a tour group called Florence for Fun, which plans trips for students studying abroad here in Florence. I went with Rob and my roommate Meredith, and the three of us pretty much did our own thing separate of the group the whole weekend. We did lots of walking around since it's such a beautiful city, and lots of shopping, since the exchange rate was phenomenal and they had lots of really original stuff. It was quite a bit of fun. We also had one really interesting (and by that, I mean scary) night. Prague has a 5-story dance club with a different type of music on each floor, so Saturday night we decided to check it out. Rob and I got separated from Meredith because she left with some guy without telling us, so we spent a frantic two hours looking for her and sitting in this disgusting club panicking thinking she was dead or raped or god knows what. She ended up bumping in to us an hour and a half after we'd planned to leave, and we convinced her to come home with us, but it was horribly stressful and a great way to ruin a night that would have otherwise been really fun. Then, on the way home we were mistaken for pickpockets and grabbed by two bouncers walking by another dance club. We tried to push them off because we didn't know who they were and we hadn't done anything wrong, and almost got in a fight in the process. Prague at night is a scary place, and it just reinforced why I almost never go out in Europe. I really love the place during the day, and will spend the rest of my late night hours here sleeping and avoiding the scary crowd.
We made it back from Prague early Monday morning (about 2am) and the next week or so just flew by. Before we knew it, it was Thursday afternoon and we were leaving for our third half-day bus ride in a week period, to Vienna. We arrived there about 3am to a surprisingly nice hostel, then woke up around ten the next morning to go explore. In all honesty, I can't remember much about our trip to Vienna except for that it was FREEZING cold. It was also windy and rainy, so it made it pretty miserable to be outside. We did our best to get the best out of the city, but we ended up doing a lot of museum tours and hanging out in coffee shops. We did, however, get to see a couple really cool things, namely a performance of the Lipizzaners of the Spanish Riding School and Mozart's house in Vienna. Mozart's house actually was only cool in that he lived there -- the museum itself was awful and overpriced. It was still inspiring though to be there and see what he saw out his windows and just be in the place that inspired him.
So, Vienna wasn't a complete bust, though it wasn't my favorite weekend out of all my trips so far. This morning, we woke up early and got ready to leave, and it was the most gorgeous morning (GRRR). I realized I probably would have fallen in love with Vienna had it been sunny, and so I'd love to go back someday and try again. The drive home wasn't too painful, but I am thankful to not be going on any more bus trips for probably the rest of my time here.
This week, once again, will be short. We're leaving for Spring Break on Thursday -- six days in Bavaria! We're still working out the details, namely where to stay since our apartment fell through, but as soon as that's figured out, it should be a great week!
Alright, I've got to go make Skype calls. Ciao!
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